Saturday, June 18, 2011

Five for Father's Day

Hubba hubba!

Recently at a wedding reception, a man at my dinner table told me he likes to read because his wife likes him to read. "She'll come by and put her hand on my shoulder and say, 'Awww--you're reading!'" Forget puppies and babies. Books make a guy a total chick magnet. What wife caresses and praises her man when he's watching the game, or asking her to get him another beer, or not taking out the trash? Exactly.

Make the men in your life more appealing! Buy them a book this Father's Day. If you went big and got them a Kindle, these Fave Five are available in that format, but otherwise, run down to your local bookstore and pick up one of these surefire winners. Some I've recommended before, but I'm still including them.

Unbrokenby Laura Hillenbrand. The inspiring non-fiction tale of how Louie Zamperini overcame almost every possible kind of suffering, from dashed Olympic dreams to a plane crash to sadistic prison guards in WWII. Made my husband read it, and he loved it,too.

If your hub or dad can't get enough of the adventure stories, I also recommend Anthony Brandt's The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage. It's all there: the men, the quest, the elements. A good one if he's already read about Shackleton or if he liked Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.

If he's a history buff, consider one of my husband's favorites: Bill Bryson's A Short History of Absolutely Everything. It's exactly what it sounds like. Not much will stick in memory, but you'll enjoy the ride. Same goes for his history of all things vaguely-domestic, At Home: A Short History of Private Life.

In the fiction department, I'm always going to recommend David Benioff. Either of his two novels will work, with City of Thieves being my favorite. Set in WWII during the Siege of Leningrad, it follows two unlikely companions who become friends as they try to complete the quirky mission assigned them.

Finally, if your fella just wants short reads and something Beavis-and-Butthead-esque to snicker at, there's always Robert Kroese's The Force Is Middling in This One. I love the cover:

Two men that I know of are getting my latest novel Everliving for Father's Day--enjoy, Paul and Brent.

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Writer, creative consultant, speaker, pastor's wife, and farmers market addict.
The Seattle Times called Christina's THE BERESFORDS "ingenious and entertaining," and Austenprose.com urged, "...If you read only one traditional Regency this year, let it be THE NATURALIST."
As the UrbanFarmJunkie, she is the official blogger of the Bellevue Farmers Market.